Carmine and Bubble Gum
by MerhppDerhpp
Summary: They were civilian. Despite the pink tones of their hair, no one believed they were anything special. Haruno Saki decided to become a shinobi, with her little sister following. Grey OC. AU. Non-Massacre.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. We all wish we did. I will not be putting any other disclaimers up after this one.  
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**I wanted to make a new story, you know, with the fickle inspiration and all. Updates will be irregular, as I am horrible at multitasking. I hope you can bear with that. This is not a Self-Insert. If it was, I would've put it in the summary.  
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**Beta: Senior Coq-On-Face the Third. (I dislike your name so much, but thank you for helping me.)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Haruno Kizashi and Mebuki were a happy couple, even if their views were different and were infamous for their intense bickering. Kizashi was a jounin, accomplished but lonely. He had met Mebuki when she first came to Konohagakure on a vacation from the land of Iron.<p>

Of course, things didn't start out well between them. Mebuki was a very serious woman, so when she first saw Kizashi with his unique hairstyle; she cringed in disgust at the impracticality. Being so laid-back, the man was undeterred after he found himself falling for her each time she smiled at his stupid antics. Eventually, he captured her heart and proposed. Mebuki moved to Konohagakure and started to work at a confectionery store. Together, they had a family.

First, they had Saki in February. Saki was a fair-skinned child, with carmine-coloured hair and dark, forest green eyes that calmly stared at her surroundings. She was a quiet one, hardly having cried during her birth. At first, they thought something was wrong with her, but they were assured that she was perfectly healthy. During her first months of life, Saki rarely laughed. She made babbling noises and smiled a little as most babies would, but they were soft. Most of the time, she'd simply stare with half-lidded eyes at the ceiling or sit somewhere and go through the various learning books Mebuki and Kizashi bought for her. She was a smart one, and not very affectionate.

Sakura was born a year later in March. Like her sister and her mother, she was also fair-skinned and had green eyes; although hers were sea-foam and more lively than her sister's. Her hair was bright bubble gum, the reason for her name. For some reason, her forehead was a little larger than average, but didn't seem to be too protruding. She was much more active and energetic, laughing and giggling and wreaking havoc. Her parents would agree that their youngest was very troublesome, but they loved the two of them with all their hearts.

The Kyuubi attacked when Sakura was seven months and Saki was one year and eight months. It was a terrible day for all villagers. It was the day Saki had first cried since she was born.

As the two of them grew, Kizashi and Mebuki could see the drastic differences between their daughters. Sakura was a very happy child, always having energy to expend and playing games with her parents. She always had a smile on her face, whilst her sister's expression would typically remain stoic, annoyed or tired. When talking with other people, Sakura was very shy, hiding behind her sister. Saki was often very blunt and had no trouble talking to people. Getting them to like her with her brutal honesty was a different thing. Saki disliked it when people touched her, skin to skin, and would often wear long-sleeved shirts, scarves, gloves, long pants and socks no matter the season. Though unusual and often off-putting since she would refuse to even hug her family, they respected her wishes and would only occasionally give her hugs. Sakura was definitely affectionate enough to make up for her sister's lack of touching, though.

Saki's little sister was smart, having understood the basic learning books with relative ease, but didn't seem to be interested in the more advanced books like she was. Sakura enjoyed playing more than learning about the chakra pathway system, tenketsu, human anatomy and so on. Saki's capability of speaking fluently and reading books far above her age's intelligence level surprised Mebuki and Kizashi, as it showed that she was far more intelligent than most in her age group.

Because of this, Kizashi asked if Saki wanted to become a ninja. With little hesitation, his daughter nodded and stared at him, waiting for him to begin teaching her how to find her chakra and attempt to control it. To his complete surprise, Saki's chakra control was more refined than even many experienced ninja. Upon hearing this, Saki showed a rare, genuine smile that motivated Kizashi to continue helping his daughter to become a great ninja.

Soon enough, Sakura became interested in what his father and sister were doing. Surprisingly enough, Sakura also had great control over her chakra. Unfortunately, she wasn't all that good at sitting still when meditating. Mebuki often found the three of them doing different kinds of exercises, learning katas and all. There was a time when Saki had scared her mother silly when she was walking upside down on the ceiling; her response to Mebuki's frantic cries of 'What the hell are you doing?!' was a calm 'Training.' and a blank, upside down expression.

Eventually, Sakura announced that she too, wanted to be a ninja. When Mebuki began to argue that both her children were going to grow up and be in constant danger, Kizashi began to attempt to defuse her but was dragged into another long and painful session of arguments. Sakura felt like she had made her mother angry, but what surprised her was that she felt a small hand ruffling her hair. When she turned, she saw her sister retract her gloved hand and a small smile on her lips.

"You'll be a great shinobi if you work hard." was what her aneki said. For a long time, Sakura couldn't stop smiling.

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><p>Saki blinked, staring at her little sister who shifted back and forth. "We should go now, Sakura. Wouldn't want to miss your orientation." she commented softly with an indifferent tone. That was how Saki always spoke, but Sakura knew her sister cared. She just didn't show it as well as other siblings.<p>

"Okay," the small pinkette nodded, putting on her shoes and getting her lunch, "are tou-chan and kaa-chan already at work?" she asked, grabbing onto her sister's gloved hand as they began to leave the house.

Sakura watched Saki nod from behind. "Mm, tou-san is on assignment and kaa-san had to go to the sweets store early." she explained, turning a corner. "They said they were sorry they couldn't make it."

"It's okay, I have you aneki." the smaller child replied, a bright smile on her face. She wore a red ribbon that held her hair back, a way of drawing attention to make her look cuter; an idea Saki came up with when other kids started bullying her forehead. It really helped build her confidence, but her sister was a big part in that. Being in public without Saki made her self-conscious.

The carminette glanced back at her, a small smile on her face. "True. Don't let anyone bully you and don't bully them," Saki advised, "you're most likely stronger than most of your classmates who aren't from a clan, so you could easily defend yourself. But don't turn it into bullying."

Sakura nodded fervently. "I know, aneki." she looked down, slowing her pace a little. "It's just...they probably won't like me. Even if I wear this ribbon."

"Doesn't matter," her sister replied indifferently, "just be you. I have many people who don't like me very much, because I'm being me." the sound of a multitude of children was beginning to come into hearing.

"But you're still awesome even if they don't like you!" the pinkette exclaimed, her free hand curled into a fist and waving in the air.

"Exactly." Saki smiled.

The two sisters made their way through the large crowd of adults and children, easily dodging clumsy or rude ones thanks to their trained reflexes. When they made it to the class room that the orientation would be held in, Saki stopped and turned to face her little sister, whose eyes were constantly darting from one person to another. Their hair caught some eyes, but none had yet to say anything to them. Sakura could feel her heart beating harshly against her chest in horror, but was brought out of her pessimistic thoughts and calmed down after her sister gently poked her forehead.

"Remember what I said?" Saki asked, looking down at her.

The five-year-old nodded. "Don't let myself be bullied, don't bully and be myself." she repeated, each word building up a bit of her confidence. She could do this.

"Alright, I'll see you at the entrance after school. Good luck." and with that, Sakura was left alone with a room full of kids her age.

* * *

><p>"You're early, Saki-chan."<p>

Saki tilted her head to see Mizushima Naoki at the back of the class, sitting in the third seat like he always did. Naoki had pale skin, piercingly sly yellow eyes and light blue hair, his right side-bang longer and thinner than his left. They framed his face whilst the rest of his hair had small bits sticking out in random directions. He liked to wear black, long-sleeved shirts like her, but the difference was his raised collar which covered his neck. His pants and shoes were the same colour as his top. He smiled at her as she moved to sit next to him.

There were other peers in the class, but they were absorbed in their own conversations. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Hyuuga Neji glaring at her as she passed his desk. They had a small history between them. Their first year as classmates turned out to be quite the dilemma.

Saki sat beside Naoki, who turned fully to face her. He leaned in, invading her personal space as per usual. Though it wasn't too noticeable, her brow was slightly furrowed at his antics.

"Is your sister starting today?" he asked, tilting his head and feigning ignorance. He already knew a lot of the answers to his questions, but seemed to enjoy listening to others' responses more. Saki believed he could be a sociopath.

"Mm." she hummed, setting down her bag on the desk and pulling out multiple books. Naoki leaned to get a better look, then saw that they were books from one of the more advanced classes.

"What are you doing with those? Are you moving classes?" Naoki inquired, leaning against the desk.

"No. Sensei gave them to me after I told him the materials he was giving me was below my intelligence." she explained, blinking and turning to face the blue-haired boy who began to snicker.

"Wow, Saki-chan. Way to insult the rest of us lowly classmates." he teased, leaning back against the chair and folding arms behind his head.

"I was merely telling the truth." the carminette girl replied, opening up her one of her textbooks that went on about the human anatomy and beginning to read. She didn't react when the boy next to her began to play with the tails of her dull blue scarf.

"As you always. Does this mean you could graduate early and leave me with that purple-haired stick-in-the-mud?"

Saki sighed, he always did love asking questions he knew the answers to. Staying silent for a moment, she shifted so that she could cross her legs on the seat. She wore boots instead of the usual sandals, but that was just one part of her unique outfit. Her scarf was the only pop of colour on her clothes; her shirt was a dark grey whilst her gloves, pants and boots were black. The only skin one could see on her was her face.

After staring at a diagram of a dissected human heart, she finally decided to indulge her classmate who asked too many questions. "I could, I have high enough grades to move into a more advanced class and then graduate from there. I would think that Takahiro would murder you if I left." she glanced at the bluehead.

"He can try, but I'm only teasing, Saki-chan. It's not my fault he's always so irritated." Naoki smiled slyly, turning to glance at the entrance to find the one they were talking about. "Speak of the eggplant."

Oshira Takahiro was the third of their odd little trio, he had naturally tanned skin, sharp aqua eyes and eggplant-coloured hair that spiked up randomly (hence his nickname). His bangs fanned to the left nearly covering his entire left eye, side-bangs framing his face. Wearing a dark red shirt and black shorts, the bruises on his arms and legs from training too much could be seen.

He and some other students walked in, going to the seats they had occupied since the year before. Takahiro sat beside Saki, nodding in acknowledgment to her and and scowling at the one on the other side of her. Even at a young age, he was nearly always seen with a serious face.

"Been training again, eggplant-kun? You'll break a bone at this rate." the blue-haired boy commented, his smile widening as the purple-haired boy back glared at him around Saki, who was taller than the two of them.

The girl in their trio leaned back, having opened one of the books her sensei gave her and reading through that. "He's already broken his tibia bone." she provided absentmindedly.

"Why do you keep on calling me that?" Takahiro asked through gritted teeth. "You call Saki by her name."

"Oh, I do!" Naoki clapped his hands, a decidedly disturbing smile on his young face. "Saki-chan doesn't get annoyed with me like you do if I give her nicknames. It's no fun that way." he explained, proceeding to play with Saki's scarf tails.

The aqua-eyed boy frowned at the yellow-eyed one. "I think you're a sadist." he said, turning away to see that their teacher had finally arrived.

Naoki glanced at Saki, who glanced back at him after feeling his intensity. The boy knew how to gain people's attention with just a look or a smile, in a bad way. "What do you think, Saki-chan?" he asked softly.

"I believe that you're a sociopath," she responded, turning the page of her book, "but that doesn't change the fact that I will remain your unlikely associate."

"Ah, Haruno-san! You're such a loyal person!" the class idiot declared, causing the class to turn and once again, stare at the kid known as Rock Lee. He was standing by the trio's desk with bruises and cuts all over. Despite that, he still had a blindingly bright smile.

"Ah." Saki deadpanned. "Lee. Did you break any fingers this time?" she inquired, once again flipping the pages of her book.

"Only three this time, Haruno-san! Don't worry, though, I'll become even stronger and break less next time!" he announced, raising a fist in the air with a determined expression.

"Shut up and sit down, Lee!" their sensei ordered, his black eyes burning holes in the eccentric student.

"Ah, of course sensei!"

"Saki," sensei turned to look at the civilian girl with dark pink hair, "I expect you to be to be able to ace all the tests I give you today."

"Yes, sensei." she merely replied, nodding slightly.

Takahiro poked her, prompting her to glance at him. He stared at her with a serious expression. "What's a sociopath?"

Saki sighed.

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><p>Sakura's eyes shifted left and right, trying to memorise her classmates and where they sat so she wouldn't sit in it by mistake. There were only three seats lefts, and one was next to the Uchiha boy. He was cute, really cute, but these girls were rabid! Sitting next to him would mean that the female body of the class would target and attempt to kill her.<p>

Like aneki said, she wasn't going to let herself be bullied, but she felt like she'd probably go overboard with the amount of girls in her class. So, instead, she sat at the second last desk on the right side of the room. The boy next to her was kind of plain and seemed to ignore her, so she felt that was a plus.

The parents had all gone and Iruka-sensei was simply going over what he said about their learning when the adults were around. She wasn't like her sister, who always had her head in books, but she felt confident that her grades on written tests would be significantly high. She wouldn't do as well in physical training, but she sincerely doubt she'd be last.

Her eyes shifted, taking a peek at the raven-haired boy. He was paying attention to what their sensei was saying, but she could see the irritation every time he heard the hushed whispers of the girls around him. She frowned in pity for the boy. Her eyes then landed on the excited, blonde boy at the front of the classroom, sitting all by himself. He seemed like the epitome of happiness and sunshine, with the way he giggled excitedly and bounced in his seat whenever Iruka-sensei mentioned something he deemed cool. Even though she could see the way some of her new classmates whispered mean things about him, he seemed unconcerned.

Shifting her gaze between the dark-clothed boy and the light-clothed one, Sakura noticed that the air around them seemed to be the complete opposite of each other. They received the same amount of attention, but one was of adoration and the other was of contempt, yet their reactions were backwards.

Silently, Sakura thanked her sister for telling her to always be aware of her surroundings and the people in it. She didn't know why everyone was treating the other boy so badly, but she knew that if Saki didn't tell her, she'd probably just conform to everyone else's behaviour towards the both of them.

"Alright, now it's time for you all to introduce yourselves." Iruka-sensei announced with a smile, clapping his hands once. The majority of the class made sounds of reluctance, including the pinkette. She'd have to stand up and introduce herself. Oh, god why? "Tell everyone your name, what you like, what you dislike, your hobbies and dreams for the future. Starting from the front row, left."

Sakura really just wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. Unfortunately, she couldn't. Aneki said that during introductions, she write down everything that the person introducing themselves said and their most prominent feature in case she forgets what they look like. She said it was recommended to keep that knowledge just in case she ever needed it. The pinkette wasn't exactly sure what she'd use the information for, but she decided to do it anyway. Aneki was really smart, her advice would be really helpful.

She learned that the two boys were Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto liked ramen a lot and Sasuke liked tomatos, training and his clan. The blonde wanted to be Hokage and the ravenhead wanted to be the chief of the military police force.

By the time she finished writing the information of the boy beside her, she realised it was her turn. Immediately, she felt herself pale. Remembering aneki's words to just be herself, she took a deep breath and stood; fiddling anxiously with her fingers and looking at the desk.

"Uh...uhm..." she stuttered softly, "my name is..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't hear you." Iruka-sensei cut her off, looking at her apologetically. "Could you speak up a little, please?"

"U-Uh, okay..." she replied, her cheeks tinting red as she heard the snickers of her classmates. Somehow, she felt a small tinge of irritation as she heard them. Clinging to that irritation to try and bring up her confidence, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened them; there was a slight frown on her face. "My name is Haruno Sakura. What I like is my onee-chan, training and sweets. What I don't like is bullying and anyone who bullies. My hobbies are playing trivia games and memorising new material for training. My dream in life is to become a great kunoichi."

Sakura's eyes lit up as she imagined herself being an awesome ninja with her sister by her side, telling her how proud she is of her little sister. She didn't seem to notice the silence of the momentarily stunned class, as none of the other females present had mentioned anything other than girly, useless things like having their hair perfect every day for a dream. Perhaps there was that Hyuuga Hinata girl, but it was hard to understand anything with the way she spoke softly and stuttered badly. When she sat down, the class snapped out of their thoughts and the introductions resumed.

The pinkette smiled to herself, she thought she did well. Aneki would surely praise her for her confidence as she introduced herself. When she felt eyes on her, she looked to see the blonde boy staring up at her in awe. His eyes were a vibrant blue that seemed to shine, but he was staring and it was making her uncomfortable. Blushing, she decided to give him a small smile and a wave. It was the least she could do. Surprise formed on his small face, before a large, goofy grin appeared and he waved enthusiastically back.

Maybe she would make a friend, after all.

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><p>Mebuki welcomed her daughters back as they entered the house, but her greeting was more towards her youngest than her eldest. The reason for this was because of Saki's decision to become a ninja (also influencing her sister to follow her path) as well her lack of replying.<p>

"Tadaima!" Sakura announced excitedly, the impact of her feet against the wooden floor becoming louder as she ran to her mother in the kitchen.

"Mm..." Saki hummed, though only she could hear herself. She silently stepped past the entrance to the kitchen and made her way upstairs silently, causing her mother to once again frown in disapproval.

"How was your first day, sweetie?" Mebuki smiled as the small pinkette sat at the table, where different sweets awaited her like every day. She was only allowed to pick one bag a day, since too much was unhealthy. She watched as her daughter picked the colourful konpeito and proceeded to open the bag.

"It was good!" Sakura piped up after putting a blue konpeito in her mouth. "No one bullied me and I think I made a friend!" she smiled brightly, the memory of Naruto smiling at her in her head.

Her mother's smile widened a little at the good news, though she couldn't stop the irritation that continued to fester inside her as she was continuously reminded that her five-year-old daughter was now in the academy to become a murderer. This was her husband's fault. If he hadn't indulged Saki, the two of them would've never chosen to become ninjas. Now, at six, her eldest was already distancing herself from her own mother.

"That's good. Do you have homework?" she asked, turning back to the stove to continue her preparations for dinner. A little light was lost in her eyes. Dinner. The family ate together, yet she could already feel the tension between her eldest and herself.

"Yup. I'm going to go to aneki and see what 'medical ninjutsu' is." her daughter replied. "Iruka-sensei said that medical ninjutsu was very complicated and required high intelligence as well as near perfect chakra control. I'm sure aneki will know!"

"I'm sure she will. Why don't you bring her these?" Mebuki turned so that she could grab the sweets from the counter and hand them to her daughter. "It's chocolate-filled taiyaki and chichi dango, your sister's favourite."

Sakura beamed at her mother as she grabbed the sweets. "We'll come down when dinner's ready, okay?" she exclaimed as she began to hurriedly run up the stairs to her sister's room.

Mebuki sighed. As much as she disliked her daughters' career choices and her eldest's non-affectionate attitude, she loved them both dearly. She smiled when Sakura yelled down her thanks on Saki's behalf.

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><p>Saki's room was neat and a lot bigger than Sakura's, whose room was beside her sister's. The walls were white, like the rest of the house, but most of the furniture in the room were neutral or dark shades like grey or black. Her black bookshelf, which was located on the right side of her room, took up half of the wall and was filled neatly with various books about the human body, chakra, science, etc. She had another shelf beside the bookshelf that held scrolls and various figures such as a skeleton with the respective names of each bone on it. Her window was in the middle of the wall opposite to the entrance of her room, whilst her single bed was situated against the corner of the left wall. Two grey bean bags were at the end of the bed. There were some posters that showed the tenketsu in the body or where the nerves were.<p>

That left the low and simple, black table in the middle of the room where both the sister were currently sitting. Saki had various books open, both reading about something she was interested in and doing the extra homework assigned to her after she passed all the tests her sensei gave her. She also ate the sweets Sakura brought her.

"So, do you think I could become a medical-nin, aneki?" Sakura asked, sitting on the other side of the table with her own books out. Her homework was to simply research about the jutsu they liked for now.

"Yes, if you really want to." Saki replied, turning three pages of three different books. "I have researched about it, but most likely I will want to use it offensively instead, rather than saving people's lives."

Her little sister frowned. "But why?" she questioned childishly. "Wouldn't it be better to save lives?"

The carminette paused in her multitasking to look at her sister. Her face remained in that stoic expression as she responded. "Frankly, I can't save lives if I don't want to. I don't want to. I feel my skills would be better suited for torture or assassination in the future." she elaborated, her tone as dull as ever even when talking about something as serious as taking or saving lives.

Sakura thought about it, wondering if she should give up on saving lives but was unable to think anymore when Saki spoke up once again.

"Listen Sakura, you are your own person. You may be following the me in the path of the ninja, but that doesn't mean you have to follow me exactly. If you want to save lives, then do so. I will support you regardless." Saki knew her sister well. She knew that the small pinkette idolised her, but she would rather not have her little sister attempt to become her. Besides, Sakura was kindhearted naturally. She, on the other hand was not.

When her little sister smiled at her, she returned it with a small one. "Thank you, aneki! I'll make sure I'll become a great medical-nin!" the pinkette declared, shoving her hand in the air enthusiastically.

"That's good, then I'll have to lend you some of my books." Saki replied, grabbing a dango and resuming her multitasking.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, the development of what Sakura would one day call 'Inner' began due to this very conversation.

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><p>"You will always be weak, Haruno."<p>

Saki sighed. Yet again, Hyuuga Neji was trying again to force his beliefs of fate upon her. Their first year, they were partnered up as sparring partners one time. Of course, with him being a Hyuuga, he obviously beat her. She didn't mind that, as she knew her opponent outdid her in this situation; it was the fact that he started to ramble on about how her being born as a civilian would mean she would forever be weak no matter how hard she tried, and that she needed to accept that fact because it was fate.

For a child to be spouting nonsense like that meant that he went through a traumatising event in his short life, Saki deduced. She knew that the Hyuuga clan had a branch family, so her classmate must've belonged to that part of the clan. Unfortunate, but it did make sense. Whilst she understood his reasoning for believing in fate, she didn't agree with his methods of forcing his beliefs on others. He was somewhat of a bully, believing himself superior to his peers whom he believed were weak.

"Again, Hyuuga?" she asked monotonously, her eyelids lowered to seem as if she was tired and bored at the sight of him. The Hyuuga scowled at her, moving into his usual stance of the gentle fist. "You sound as if you're suffering by this belief of yours."

He charged, but his byakugan was unactivated due to the restrictions of using kekkei genkai. Though she was sure he would've at least memorised where the tenketsu in the body was, she doubted he would be able to accurately pinpoint them. Still, it would be wise not to be hit. His strikes were quick, but she was able to dodge and weave around and away from him. He often got irritated with her, but he was able to suppress his emotions well enough during a fight for a six-year-old. Being provoked as he was fighting, though...

"Someone weak will always remain weak. Nothing can change that." Neji commented as he made a strike for her shoulder; she just barely dodged, his fingers brushing against the fabric of her shirt. He attempted to grab one of her scarf tails, but instead she pulled it away from his reach. His concentrated frown was beginning to turn into a frustrated glare.

"Are you referring to me...or yourself?" Saki asked, almost casually as Neji was finally able to land a hit on her arm, though he missed the node. She could feel that bit go numb as she took the chance to quickly grab his wrist and press down on his ulnar nerve. He cringed as she pulled him forward to kick his foot and send him to the ground. Unfortunately for her, he was able to grab the tail of her scarf and drag her down with him.

The Hyuuga grunted as Saki landed crudely on top of him, her elbow pressing into his gut. Irritated, the carminette roughly pulled her scarf tail out of his hand and sat up, Neji mimicking the action. The two of them had scowls on their faces as they glanced at each other. The Haruno fixed her scarf whilst Neji massaged his wrist. Ignoring their classmate's eyes, he reluctantly accepted Saki's hand and stood up to bow; calling the end of their spar.

"Next time, Haruno." Neji promised as she moved to silently step past him. Glancing at him, she felt like replying.

"If I'm weak and was able to bring you down, what does that say about you?" she whispered so only he could hear. As he whipped around to properly face her, she was already walking towards the two boys she always hung around with.

The Hyuuga glared intensely at the back of the stoic girl. She fought unlike his other classmates, who always charged to try and overpower him with brute strength. He forgot that she fought smarter. As he said before...next time.

Unbeknownst to him, Saki was actually irritated with the Hyuuga rather than seemingly indifferent as he thought. No, his personality annoyed her. She understood he went through traumatic events and that they were still merely children, but to continuously call her weak even though she had proven herself on more than one occasion...it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Normally, a person's thoughts about her were void, but the Hyuuga had a way of getting under her skin with his annoying nonsense.

Fate? They're all tied down by an inescapable fate?

Whilst she felt like being open-minded about that, she just felt like she couldn't. Perhaps it was because she was still a developing child, even if she was highly intelligent. Was it fate that she and her sister decided to become ninjas? Was it fate that she associated with the two known as Naoki and Takahiro? She didn't want to believe that. It was her own choices that led to this, not some fate.

She was silent as her associates bickered as they usually did whilst the rest of the class finished up the taijutsu lesson. Should she call them friends? What did it mean to have friends? What did it mean to create bonds?

Saki sighed heavily, a sigh not meant for a mere six-year-old. Perhaps the constant questions and thinking was tiring her.

If the academy was this tiring, she almost didn't want to imagine what it'd be like when she graduated.

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><p><strong>Tell me what you thought, please?<strong>

**Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre.  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Already late by like a month. I'm on a roll. I've figured out that I will be updating my stories in turns. Carmine and Bubble Gum, then Black Demon of the Leaf and vice versa. I'm also thinking of revising The Uzumaki Seal later this year, so I may update that after BDOTL and then update CABG. Also, my beta Senior Coq-On-Face the Third will be gone for two weeks so he's not here to tell me how to explain the complicated bit in this chapter. I hope you can understand well enough.  
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**I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>There were just some things Saki couldn't understand. That included relationships children have with their mothers. She read that mothers had something called 'maternal instinct' when their children were born. A 'bond', it usually read.<p>

What kind of bond?

The question always ran through her mind when she would overhear her classmates talking about how their mothers were always doting on them. When she was walking the streets of Konoha and she would see mothers and their children interacting happily, their tones light and loving.

She even saw it between her sister and her mother.

Yet...

"Saki, could you please not practice sticking leaves to your forehead at the dinner table?" Mebuki asked her eldest daughter with a tone of irritation. Her brow was furrowed as she semi-glared at the carmine-haired girl.

Yet, why was it that she did not get that tone of loving tone of voice? Or the affectionate gaze? Not even when she was doing nothing wrong, why?

"It helps me concentrate on two things at once." was Saki's monotonous reply. She stared directly into her mother's eyes with an indifferent gaze as she always did, noting the signs of irritation in her mother's body language. Her mother was about to retort when Kizashi intervened.

"Just _leaf _her be, dear." he smiled casually, emphasising 'leaf' to subtly inform his family of the pun in his sentence. Mebuki, as per usual, diverted her irritation to her pun-using husband whilst their children merely continued to eat dinner, Saki keeping the multitude of leaves on her forehead.

"Kizashi, you need to be more strict on her! She can't be practising her ninja skills all the time! Especially at the dinner table of all places." Kizashi's wife chided him, her hand pointing accusingly at her expressionless daughter who had finished eating.

Before the pink-haired man could reply, Saki stood up, her eyes staring blankly at the table. "Thanks for the food." she thanked them, then turned and left. Kizashi noticed that her legs had more leaves attached to her.

Sakura continued to look anxiously between her parents and where her sister just left, unsure of what to do. Her father merely smiled reassuringly at her and gestured for her to keep eating.

Mebuki sighed, leaning back in her chair and placing a hand on her forehead. "Honestly, what am I going to do with that girl?" she muttered, exasperated.

* * *

><p>Saki knew that her mother was an affectionate person to her family. When her brothers from the land of Iron came to visit, she was very affectionate.<p>

In all honesty, Saki didn't like any relatives visiting. They would always try to touch her, ruffle her hair or pinch her cheeks. She would always get scolded for glaring and avoiding their attempts at being friendly. It was annoying.

Sakura enjoyed the attention, though. Even though the small pinkette was shy at first, she would soon warm up to their relatives. Mebuki always had a smile on her face when she saw those moments.

When the carminette was younger...she had tried, multiple times to be affectionate...but she would always get a strange sensation that had naturally made her rather uncomfortable and averse to touching. It wasn't only with her mother, it was with everyone she touched. The one time Sakura had pulled her glove off and touched her hand, the uncomfortable sensation of bombarding emotions entering her mind made her roughly pull away. It was like she was feeling the emotions Sakura had. It was very uncomfortable; she also realised that after touching Sakura, her little sister had rubbed her eyes sleepily as if she didn't get enough sleep. So she stopped.

Well...she only really stopped truly trying to touch people when her mother started glaring at her and the emotions of irritation and anger entered when she attempted to be affectionate. So she gave up. She gave up on trying to win her mother's love, because she realised that the woman held no love for her. That was why she didn't get the loving looks.

It was best to leave her be.

When asking others if they got the weird sensations, she found that no one felt the same. Intrigued, she theorised that it was something to do with her own body. Books and scrolls were her salvation.

It was stated in various books that babies need nutrients from the mother's body during their development in the womb. Also, small amounts of the mother's chakra are absorbed for further development, which is why family members tended to have similar chakra signatures. Usually, once born the babies no longer take any chakra because they no longer need their mother's chakra to grow. In some cases, some babies would continue to take chakra upon direct contact with their skin.

Since the baby is unable to properly convert chakra from other sources into their own reserves since their chakra coils have yet to develop, the chakra splits into the two forms of spiritual and physical. The spiritual chakra would enhance the mind whilst the physical chakra enhanced the body. As the baby grows, this impassive 'ability' may decrease in its potency or even cease to happen. For example, the spiritual chakra that is absorbed would be the current emotions of the person or the physical chakra that is absorbed would only be a little energy boost. The person being touched would only feel as though they hadn't gotten enough sleep, but not enough to really impair them. The person will also not realise that the child will be able to feel their emotions, as it doesn't get absorbed. It is merely an extension of emotion to the child that will fade immediately the moment contact is broken.

If the person is currently feeling angry and annoyed at a person whom they care for, the negative emotions will be carried over since it is the most prominent emotion the person is currently feeling. The stronger and more intense, it becomes less likely that the child will feel the positive emotions.

However, some children will have this 'ability' grow in potency, allowing them to properly absorb regular chakra from another and add it into their own reserves. This would kill the person they are touching should the child take all the chakra. It is required that these children seek treatment at the hospital in favour of safety. They can be taught to turn the ability off at will. Also, it is possible to be able to absorb chakra through clothes or armour should their ability grow stronger.

Children with this condition are generally more intelligent and stronger than most around their age group. Clans are often sources of offspring with this condition, an example is the co-founder of Konohagakure and former head of the Uchiha clan; Uchiha Madara. This may be because of their DNA and/or unique kekkei genkai.

It was then Saki realised that she must've been one of those children who were capable of taking chakra from others upon direct contact. Since she was one of the children whose 'ability' wasn't potent enough to really harm anyone, she decided there was no need to seek treatment.

With her condition realised, she decided that she would still rather not touch people, even if it wasn't really harmful to them. The sensation was simply too uncomfortable. These...emotions that other people were experiencing, she could feel them...she didn't like them because half of them were emotions she couldn't understand at all. It was like these feelings were invading her mind. Then to realise that these are not your emotions of anger and frustration, but your mother's...

To feel emotional pain, and find out that it was not someone else's but her own...it was not a pleasant feeling. So she attempted to lock those emotions away. They were useless since her mother did not care. There was no point hanging onto 'bonds' that weren't in reciprocated, Saki decided. Mothers were meant to love and care for their children unconditionally, but apparently sometimes things from books can be incorrect. If her mother didn't care, then that meant not many other people would care either.

It would prove to be beneficial for her if she didn't create bonds with other people, they would only cause her pain in the long run. Therefore, she would merely refer to those she keeps in contact with as 'associates'. Sakura and Kizashi were the only ones whom were exceptions. It's rare to become friends with someone and truly accept all that they are.

Saki read that this was how children coped when they grew up in a bad environment. Except that she was not in a bad environment, so perhaps she was merely different? It wasn't like Mebuki had ever hit her, she was a good mother to Sakura, she and Kizashi loved each other even though they bickered a lot. It was just that the woman didn't care about her, which was painful but acceptable. The woman still provided for her, even if it was because she was forced to. She had a roof over her head, had enough food and money, she had her own room and was allowed to get new books and scrolls upon request. That wasn't a bad environment. She also solved the problem with her mother, so that wasn't an issue.

So that meant that she was just different. That was fine.

* * *

><p>It was half a year after Sakura started her first year at the academy when Saki had come across a rather irritating sight on the streets.<p>

A small boy with blonde hair was standing in front of a shop, his fists clenched and his head lowered as he seemed to be on the verge of crying. It may have been because the owner was going at him for even entering the shop whilst a few stopped and agreed that the 'demon boy' should just stop trying to enter shops because no one would sell him anything.

To Saki, that was blatant bullying; bullying shouldn't be tolerated in her eyes, so despite her thoughts about the delay to her current destination; she went up to the scene.

When the carminette reached the boy, she walked up to him, surprising the all that were near, including the blonde. He snapped his head up to her and she realised he must've been about Sakura's age. The owner of the shop gasped.

"Girl, don't get so close to him! He's evil, he'll-" he was cut off when the small girl merely raised a hand to silence him. Her dark, jade orbs stared up at him with slight disapproval.

"What did he want to buy?" she asked, her voice remaining neutral as the boy beside her gaped at her.

The owner frowned, glancing into his shop before turning back. "What does it matter? I'm not selling anything to-" and once again he was cut off.

"That would prove to be disadvantageous to you. He's willing to buy a product of yours, which is the purpose of making things for sale, isn't it?" Saki blinked, cutting off the man again when he looked like he was going to protest, "If he doesn't have the money to pay, then that is understandable. If not, then I don't see any reason for you to violently reject him. Discrimination is not profitable towards your business." she turned to the boy. "Do you have the money?"

Hastily, the boy reached into his pockets to reveal the crumpled up notes. Saki turned back to the owner. "I don't wish to argue, I would assume that the time taken to verbally assault this boy in front of your shop would mean potential loss of customers. If you, the boy and I walk inside and make the transaction now, we can all move on from this and go about our day. Agreed?" her blank but piercing eyes looked between the boy and the owner, who were both slightly in awe of her.

Reluctantly, the owner sighed with a frown and turned, walking into his shop to go behind the counter. "Fine, since you make a valid point. Hurry up and get the thing you want, demon, before I change my mind."

Since the blonde boy was still attempting to process that he was allowed access into the shop and buy something, Saki placed a hand on his back and forcefully pushed him into the shop, causing him to stumble a bit. "Hurry up and buy what you want. We are all busy people." she stated, blinking at the blonde. The crowd began to disperse after realising the conflict was solved.

"A-ah! Okay!" he replied, zipping to a section where there were an assortment of animal pouches. He grabbed the green frog pouch, then made his way over to the counter where the owner was waiting impatiently. "I want this!"

Grumbling, the owner accepted the money for the frog pouch. "Now hurry up and get out. You better thank the girl for being kind enough to convince me, demon."

The blonde boy ignored the 'nickname' in favour of doing just that, turning around only to find that the girl was gone. Surprised, he quickly ran outside and into the street in order to find the scarfed girl that helped him.

Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. Looking down at the new money pouch in the shape of a frog, a big smile formed on his face. _'She kinda looked like Sakura-chan. Maybe they're sisters? They're both really nice. I'll have to ask Sakura-chan tomorrow. But for now, I'm going to get some ramen.' _with that in mind, he strode off to Ichiraku Ramen. The glares he received unable to damage his good mood.

Meanwhile, Saki had finally reached her destination which was the library. Since she was an academy student, she was already allowed to read some of the subjects she learned about in the academy. Apparently those who aren't an academy student or at least went don't have the clearance. Unfortunately, she already read most of those books. As her father was a jounin, he informed the library that she was cleared to read books that needed genin status to read under his authority. Usually, though, Kizashi himself would check out books for her since he was jounin and therefore could check out jounin and chunin books.

Except that whilst he knew that she was exceptionally smart, he wouldn't allow her to read anything that contained high-level techniques or that had information she shouldn't read. Perhaps it was because she was or she'd be tempted to try out a technique that could possibly kill her.

Most of the things she read were about humans in some kind of way. Whether it was the anatomy, the thought process, chakra, etc. she wanted to read them all. Her reason for visiting today though was to read about the legendary sannin, Tsunade.

The woman was known for being the world's most powerful kunoichi and its greatest medical-nin. If only the woman had stayed in Konoha. Saki planned on bringing these to Sakura, as well as do her own research on medical ninjutsu. There were thoughts of attempting to build up her immune system to various poisons (in secret, of course), so she wanted to make sure which she could try and which were easily curable.

After checking out the various books, she made her way home. The sky was already turning into hues of orange and pink, signifying the ending of the day. Saki's mind wandered to the blonde boy she had met earlier in the day. She could recall that Sakura had talked about a boy in her class that fit the description of him. _'Uzumaki Naruto.' _she remembered. So her little sister had made friends with the boy who was largely discriminated. The corner of her lip twitched upward in pride before it disappeared. _'Sakura tells me that she's been getting better at handling the bullying, but it might be a little rough since she's friends with Uzumaki. I'll have to see if he looks out for her as she does him.' _

The carminette's ears twitched when she overheard the conversation of two housewives, effectively throwing off her thought-train.

"Did you hear? Another one of the Uchiha elders fell ill and passed away last week. Honestly, that's three in the past two years." one woman with dirty-blonde hair gossiped. Her friend, the brunette, waved her hand dismissively.

"They're old, it should be expected that the wrinkly dudes would die sooner or later." she assured her friend, apparently uncaring of the elders.

The blonde woman sighed. "I suppose. It's just that they all seem to be dying at the same time. One had a heart attack two years ago, nearly nine months later, another one died in his sleep and now just last week another died of illness. Their poor clan must be so tired of mourning for them."

The brunette shrugged indifferently. "They have lots of members. I'm sure they won't miss some old geezers whose times were up. I wouldn't surprised if the rest of the elders died sometime in the next decade. They're all so, so old and there's only four of them left or so I heard."

Deciding that that was enough eavesdropping, Saki continued on her journey home. Her mind went to Uchiha Madara, who was also someone who had the same condition as her. She had to admit that she felt a bit special when it was revealed clans were more likely to have it. It was another hint that Neji's theory about her civilian status was wrong. Of course, she wouldn't tell him.

Weaving around the crowd, Saki walked a little faster to get home.

* * *

><p>Sakura sat at the back of the classroom, Naruto fiddling with a frog pouch whilst she was reading the book about Tsunade her sister gave her. Iruka hadn't entered yet, so most of the children who arrived merely did their own things.<p>

She liked to be early, she supposed. Her forest green eyes shifted to glance at Naruto, who used to arrive late until she asked him to come early so they could spend more time together. Feeling a little guilty for ignoring him in favour of her book, she marked the page and closed the book; turning to her blonde friend who noticed her attention on him.

"Hey Naruto-kun," she started, finally noticing the green frog in his hands, "when did you get that?" she asked. It looked new.

The blonde's face brightened up as a big smile formed on his childish face. "Oh, I got this yesterday! At first, I wasn't allowed to even enter the shop, but then this girl came and the guy to let me buy it! I named him Gama-chan!" he explained happily as well as loudly. "She used a lot of words I didn't get, but somehow she did it. She was really pretty too. Looked like you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really?" her voice raised in pitch by surprise.

Naruto nodded his head fervently. "Yeah, she had darker hair than yours though, and she seemed older too. That's right, I was going to ask you if you have a sister!"

The pinkette's eyes widened even more as she realised that the person Naruto was talking about was her very own aneki. "Yes," she affirmed, a smile plastering itself to her lips, "onee-chan is really great. Did she wear a blue scarf?" when the Uzumaki nodded, she grinned. "It was her, then. I often get told that I talk about her too much so I'm surprised you didn't know. I talk to her about you a lot."

Naruto's face morphed into an expression of surprise before a blush began to tint his cheeks; he began to fidget. "O-oh, yeah? You do? Uhm...what do you tell her?" he questioned nervously, smiling slightly like a goof.

Sakura looked at the ceiling, trying to recall her words. "Well, I talk about how the class likes to bully you and I try to do my best to help you. She doesn't like bullying, you see." at that, the blonde's shoulders drooped in disappointment. Then she continued, "I also talk about how you're really nice, how your smile always makes me smile and how I'm happy that you're my friend." the pinkette smiled shyly as pink coloured her cheeks and she averted her eyes to the table.

Naruto felt the need to smile wide enough that it hurt and hug his pink-haired friend and possible crush. "Gee, thanks Sakura-chan! I'll make sure to smile a lot, because I like your smile way more."

The Haruno's smile widened a little as she glanced at the Uzumaki. "Really? Thanks, Naruto-kun. That makes me happy. You're my first friend, after all."

Her friend was about to speak when she heard her jeering classmates. "Oooh! Sakura and Naruto, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! You guys should just get married, huh? You two are perfect for each other. Both rejects." one mocked, her asymmetrical and purple hair reminding the pinkette that this girl was Ami; a classmate who seemed to enjoy bullying and was the leader of the little group of girls she hung with.

When Naruto stood up, shouting an angered "Hey!", the pinkette's green orbs narrowed at her classmates that found it funny to bully. Grabbing Naruto's hand and assuring him to calm down and sit, she then turned to her classmates as something weird in her urged her to speak the way she did.

"Yes, we're the rejects. Who'd want to be friends with you idiots? I doubt you guys even know that your attempts at bullying are almost ludicrous. You should give up." she sneered, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. She mentally gasped at the way she spoke so meanly. That wasn't usually how she spoke! Her words had not only stunned her, but also Naruto and her classmates. She also missed the rather intense stare from the Uchiha across the room.

Before anyone could comment however, Iruka had used that moment to conveniently appear. Blinking away her surprise, she turned to her blonde friend that had poked her shoulder. He leaned over to whisper, "Hey, Sakura-chan...what does loo...dee...crust mean?"

Sakura grimaced at the poor pronunciation of the word. She'd have to worry about her weird behaviour later.

* * *

><p>Saki half-listened to Naoki recount his experiences with the children of the orphanage he lived at, blinking at him every once in a while to subtly inform him she was still listening. Half-listening.<p>

In truth, it was rather interesting listening to a child sociopath's thoughts on the environment he lived in. Some part of her kept wondering what her blue-haired associate would be like if he had parents. Possibly the same, since she read that sociopaths were usually naturally that way. Or was it psychopaths?

She glanced to the purple-haired boy on her other side, who was also listening with a frown. Takahiro only had a father who was almost the epitome of the word masculine, so there was no hint of a mother's love in her tanned associate. Would his mother love him if she was there? Probably.

With a slight frown, the carminette mentally shook her head at the thoughts about mothers. She had already decided that it was pointless, so it would be wise if she stopped thinking about it. Even trying to talk the two boys about it was a bad idea.

Naoki would see it as a weakness and file it away for later use. He may not have done anything really bad to her yet, but she knew that she, like everyone else was a source of entertainment for him. Takahiro on the other hand wouldn't even be able to comprehend the concept of it.

Repressing a sigh, she decided to work on the genjutsu theory homework. That, at least, would be good for her to think about. After all, since she had a natural inclination towards it, the carminette had decided that she would implement it into her fight style. Kizashi agreed, so it was only a matter of practising.

Perhaps working on a small animal like a mouse would do for practice sessions. With plans on capturing a few mice later, she set to work.

* * *

><p>"Tadaima!" Sakura exclaimed happily as she and Saki entered their house. They both removed their shoes before walking further into the house.<p>

"Okaeri!" Mebuki called from the kitchen, walking to poke her head from behind the wall out to see her daughters. Her eyes narrowed at the dirtied sight of Saki, a simple shoe box held in the elder sister's gloved hands. The girl in question raised her unreadable eyes to make contact with her mother's. The blonde woman narrowed her eyes even more before shifting her gaze to the incoming pinkette. Her gaze softened as a smile formed on her face and she opened up her arms for her youngest daughter, stepping out from behind the wall to properly embrace her.

The carmine-haired girl blinked at the way the older woman's face transitioned from annoyed to happy just by looking from herself to Sakura. The elder girl's face became a tad too blank as she walked closer to her mother and sister conversing happily, passing them without a glance and towards the stairs. She felt the irritated glance of her mother at her back, but refused to acknowledge it and continue her trek up the stairs until she was out of sight.

Mebuki sighed in exasperation. "Doesn't even greet me. What happened to manners?" the woman muttered, glancing at her youngest go into the kitchen and see what was going to be cooked for dinner.

The small face of Sakura's lit up upon realising that they would be having lots of meat for dinner. "We're having meat!" she cheered, raising a fist in triumph. Her mother chuckled, moving to continue with preparations.

"Yes, as soon as your father gets home. He promised to be back tonight."

"Hey, kaa-chan can I bring a friend over tomorrow?" Sakura asked innocently, tilting her head to play with the ribbon in her hair.

Mebuki glanced at her daughter. "Oh, that friend you always talk about?"

The pinkette nodded. "Yeah, he's lives by himself so I thought it'd be nice for him to visit. Everyone calls him a demon so-" the girl was cut off when her mother sharply turned around with a shocked expression.

"You don't mean that Uzumaki boy, do you? Why are you friends with him?" Mebuki demanded, stepping closer and unintentionally scaring her daughter.

"Because he's really nice and..." Sakura began, but she trailed off at the older woman's fierce expression.

"They say he's the demon who nearly destroyed Konoha six years ago! What possessed you to even go near him?!" the blonde's voice raised in volume as her outrage could almost be tangible.

"Aneki said that I shouldn't judge based on what people say, so-" and yet again, she was cut off as her mother slammed her hand down on the table, causing the small girl to jump in fright. Her mother was really scary when angry.

"Of course it's your sister! She's influencing you badly! First, she makes you want to become a ninja and now she's endangered you by saying it's okay to go near that demon!" Mebuki roared, her green eyes dark with fury. "Saki! Get your ass down here now!" she ordered, turning towards the stairs and stomping towards it.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and worry. Her aneki was in trouble! Was it because of what she said?! "Kaa-chan!" she called, hastily getting off the chair in an attempt to calm her mother down. "It's not aneki's fault!"

"Silence, Sakura! Your sister has been filling nonsense in your head! Your father is also at fault so I'm going to chew his ass when he gets home!" the woman shouted, placing her hands on her hips as she glared furiously at the form of her eldest daughter making her way down the steps. "Saki!" she pointed at the girl, "I've had enough of you putting rubbish in your sister's head and endangering her in the process! Get down here now!" her index finger pointed down at her feet.

Saki, simply stood on a step that was barely halfway down, not wanting to be any closer to the obviously infuriated woman. She blinked as she thought about the words her mother shouted at her. Opening her mouth, she responded blandly, "Sakura made her own choice to become a ninja and to become friends with the Uzumaki boy. She has told you, tou-san and I that she is happy with her choice and you should be happy that she has made a friend, right?" her mother didn't notice the slight tone of accusatory at the end. A slight slip-up.

"She's six!" Mebuki rebutted.

"I'm seven." Saki retorted indifferently, staring down into orbs that could've been engulfed in fire with an unreadable emotion. "You seem to understand that I'm smart enough to think through my choices."

"Your sister is different, she's not like you!" Mebuki nearly growled, her glare on her daughter become more intense. "She's easily influenced by you and Kizashi because you two are her role-models!"

The furious woman widened her eyes slightly when she saw the prominent frown that appeared on the carminette's previously blank face. "You're supposed to be a good mother and support Sakura's decisions." her words weren't loud in volume, but what really made the impact to her mother was the tone. It was accusatory and irritated. She was left speechless as the elder Haruno daughter turned and disappeared back upstairs.

"Aneki!" Sakura yelled, rushing past her mother to run up the stairs.

Now that Mebuki was left alone downstairs, the previous emotions she felt had all but left her. With a deep sigh, she rubbed her temples with a frown and sat down at the kitchen table. After calming down, forehead was now resting on her joined hands that were propped up by her elbows.

She was beginning to regret what she said. Of course it wasn't Saki's fault. Sometimes, Mebuki seemed to forget that the carmine-haired girl that was her daughter was also a child. She was just too smart for her own good, she seemed so much older. Now the woman had gone and destroyed any possibilities of bridging the gap with her daughter. A sigh left her as she glanced up to see the raw meat waiting to be cooked. Would Saki even come down for dinner? The girl loved meat...

"I should go and apologise..." Mebuki muttered, standing and making her way to Saki's room. Hesitating once, she knocked on the door lightly. A few moments later Saki opened the door, her face back in its neutral expression of blankness. Her eyes pierced into the older woman, waiting patiently (or impatiently) for her to speak.

"Saki...I'm sorry." she truly was. Saki's eyes widened slightly, as if an apology was shocking.

Taking a few seconds for it to settle in, the carminette's eyes returned to normal and she nodded at her mother. "I accept your apology." she forgave her mother dully. The only reason she was apologising was because of Sakura. Saki understood. She moved to the side and opened the door more so Mebuki could also apologise to the sobbing mess that was her little sister.

The pinkette sobbed as her mother cooed apologies and hugged her tightly, the elder sister looking on impassively.

Saki glanced at her hand that held the door knob. To her surprise, her grip was nearly crushing the poor object. Forcefully relaxing her hand, a slight frown appeared as she tried to understand why that happened.

Deciding to contemplate later, she turned her gaze to the window of her room, the sky beginning to darken. "You should finish cooking dinner, kaa-san." she advised the woman, who looked up in surprise.

"Oh! Yes! Your father should be home soon!"

The two children watched as their mother hurriedly left her room and went downstairs. Saki's eyes shifted to land on Sakura, whom was smiling at her. "See, aneki? Kaa-chan loves you too." the pinkette commented.

_'Ah. Sakura believes that kaa-san cares. I won't say anything in case she gets upset.' _Saki thought, outwardly humming in response and simply closing the door. The carminette knew that this event was merely another confirmation Mebuki truly loved Sakura and that she herself would never receive the same recognition. Sakura cared about her, so Mebuki had to apologise or Sakura would be upset.

That was fine. That was acceptable. Perhaps she should dissect some of the mice in the box for research purposes later.

* * *

><p><strong>All these 'she's and 'her's confuse me. Anyway, I hope that you guys understand that there are some...issues between Saki and her mother. I wanted to convey that whilst Saki is intelligent, she still is a child and has her flaws. I also wanted to explain the reason for her aversion to touch. Hopefully I did okay with that.<br>**

**I've also drawn an older Saki. Go on my profile to see the link.**

**Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre. **


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